Use of the activity-based costing methodology (ABC) in the cost analysis of successional agroforestry systems

Facing increasingly competitive market demands, producers must act as managers of their property, knowing the strengths and bottlenecks in production systems. In this perspective, there is a methodology activity-based costing system (ABC), a cost management tool, used when there is a mix of products, to determine the unit costs of production. This work aimed to apply the activity-based costing system to activities in a successional agroforestry system, that produces nine products. The methodology was applied to the indirect costs of the system. When applying the methodology, it was found that maize and okra products presented negative contribution margins, showing that the respective production costs exceed the sale value of the product. The other products had positive contribution margins, with emphasis on yam and strawberry. The ABC system is efficient for management and administration of agroforestry enterprises.